There has been a considerable amount of attention paid recently to the plight of California. Despite its reputation as utterly the coolest place to live on the planet, and its seemingly innumerable stregths -- fabulous weather, access to the ocean AND mountains in easy driving distance, Silicon Valley, a large diverse population -- California is on the brink of disaster. You may recall that people thought the state was in dire financial straits under Gray Davis, and held a recall, replacing him with the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the people of California have discovered that even a cybernetic killing machine could not stop the liberals in Sacramento from plowing the state into the ground.

Just how bad is the financial carnage in California? Whatever you have heard, it's worse. During the last budget session, the state was facing a $42 billion shortfall. No, that's not the total state budget for two years. That's the debt. Let's put this in perspective: the biennial deficit in California is almost as large as the combined state budget of both Oregon and Washington *combined*. And there is no end in sight. There are many arguments going around, and around, and around, about who is to blame for this: is it the State Employees' Union, with the horror stories of people retiring at age 50 on 90% of their pay? The fire chiefs who make $250,000 a year with overtime their last year, to inflate their baseline salary when it comes to retire? The flight of business to lower-tax, lower-regulation states? Competition for jobs from the Third World? The influx of illegal aliens? All can be said to have played a part, but in the end -- it doesn't really matter: solving the problem is more important than assigning blame.

Since the elites who infest inhabit the Boston-Manhattan-DC corridor seem to think that the United States should be "more like Europe", I suggest we take them at their word for once, and look to Europe for a solution. (Obviously, California's problems result from their trying European nanny-state socialism. Have I gone nuts saying they should become more like Europe? No, hang on. It'll become clearer in a moment.)

What is going on in Europe? Their problems seem to be similar to that of California: a large influx of migrant workers who are not assimilating into the larger culture, and in fact are becoming permanently bitter, disenfranchised wards of the state (bitterly clinging to their government checks and espresso); an aging population, used to "cradle-to-grave" care and security; sinecure government jobs with little real responsibility or competition; and a carefree attitude towards national defence. So what is Europe doing to take the problem in hand? The answer is, we see (led by Germany and France, working together for once) the beginnings of an austerity program. But not just ANY austerity program: the weakest members of the European Union (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) are being told to clean up their act OR ELSE. Greek bonds, for example, are paying somewhere around 6% more than German bonds -- and no surprise, since Standard and Poor's has cut their rating on Greek bonds to junk bond status. So France and Germany are ponying up, in order to preserve the Euro.

So, am I suggesting that California look to the rest of the Union (the United States) to make good its debt? Absolutely not. In fact, I think the best solution would be to take the path NOT chosen by Europe.

Let's kick California out of the Union, as Greece has been threatened to be kicked out of the EUC.

What? That's Unconstitutional? I don't know: the Civil War was fought to say that States could not unilaterally secede from the Union. It didn't mention anything about being expelled.(*)

And there is a certain delicious irony: as deTocquville said the US experiment would last until the public figured out they could vote themselves largesse out of the public treasury; as our propellor-beanie President says we should be more cosmopolitan, and learn to speak "Austrian" (von Mises fans, take note); as Angela Merkel puts the screws onto Greece; and as we have an Austrian expatriate as the Governor of California -- we could make the announcement in terms EVERYONE could understand:

"California -- You're Terminated !"

(*) There is one OTHER choice, of course. Can we persuade California to join the EU, and make their socialism official? And just think: no more automatic 42-electoral-vote advantage for the Dems in Presidential elections; and we get rid of Boxer, Waxman, and Pelosi in one fell swoop.

This post isn't meant to you specifically, but addresses a sentiment that I detected in your post.

...could you please relocate to Phoenix first? ;-)

The left has moved into all the prime real estate and the first thing so many conservatives do... (you know, those gun-toting former military guys) is leave. Why? is it because they called us bad names? No, it is simply because we were unwilling to do what had to be done: criminalize bad behavior and enforce it. If the SCOTUS says no, ignore them. If the media raise hell ignore them too. Let the Feds send the troops before you let them ruin your community, because they will (with glee) until they run out of your money.

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